Doomed pets get some relief from state

There will be no future construction of gas chambers at animal shelters in Georgia, contrary to a proposed ordinance that would have cleared the way for building them, the state agriculture commissioner announced July 27.

The decision came less than two weeks after CL published a story describing how the commission was considering an amendment to state rules that would reverse a decade-old ban on construction of chambers.

“It was very obvious that it would be much smoother sailing if we just didn’t address that issue and leave it as it’s been,” commissioner Tommy Irvin says. “It was very obvious it created a tremendous amount of interest.”

Irvin first said he might consider more gas chambers because of overpopulation of unwanted pets at many Georgia shelters. His ultimate decision allayed the fears of animal rights activists, who had not heard of the proposal until it was too late to submit public comment on the amendment. The activists instead sent pleas straight to Irvin in the weeks following the CL story.??